School Anniversary Day (8)

On the small stage that Lowell pointed out, a grand spectacle of "Red and White Carnival, Ultimate Showdown of Entertainers, and Performance Art Extravaganza" was in full swing.

On the left side of the stage stood Spark. She stood with her hands on her hips, her white twin ponytails standing up straight, waving her arms vigorously at the audience. Her smile was so bright that it seemed to have its own spotlight effect, making it hard for people to open their eyes.

"Haha! See that? I have more fans than you! Look at the cheers! Look at the enthusiasm!" She pointed to the other side of the stage, her voice filled with undisguised, childlike pride. "This is the power of white hair and red eyes! It's a trend that sweeps everything! It's a universally acknowledged truth! Come on! Louder! Let's give more cheers to Lord Spark--!"

A large number of students who were attracted to her gathered in the audience, laughing and cheering, creating a lively atmosphere.

On the right side of the stage stood Sparkle. She crossed her arms, and although the cheers from the audience seemed slightly less enthusiastic, the sly, defiant, and pure joy on her face remained as bright as ever. She gave a cold snort, the curve of her chin perfectly raised.

"Hmph... Just because you have a lot of fans doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! How naive! How superficial!" Sparkle's voice, amplified from somewhere, carried clearly throughout the surrounding area. "The real fun is a soul-stirring resonance that transcends form! It's an unexpected surprise that hits the nail on the head! It's performance art that turns the rules themselves into a joke! Your stuff is nothing but a bunch of cheap tricks for gaining popularity!"

Her eyes darted around, her lively gaze sweeping across the audience. Suddenly, she spotted something thrown onto the stage by someone who Elation to remain anonymous—a round, bouncy "Surprise Bouncing Bomb" with a comical, abstract smiley face painted on it, emitting rapid "beep beep" sounds.

Sparkle's eyes lit up instantly.

Almost simultaneously, the Sparks on the opposite side also saw that ominous... or rather, overly detailed sphere.

Their eyes met in mid-air with a clang, as if a tangible Spark and colorful confetti exploded simultaneously.

"I'll blow myself up! Can you do it!?" Sparkle spoke with astonishing speed and even more astonishing speed. Before anyone could react, she darted forward and, as if snatching a championship trophy, grabbed the Jumpy Dumpty. Amidst the gasps and gasps of the audience, she shoved it into her mouth with lightning speed and without hesitation!

"Wait—!" someone in the audience exclaimed.

"Crack! Puff--Buzz!!"

A slightly muffled but impactful bang. Not a destructive roar, but a comical sound, like the cracking of a cheap stereo. A large cloud of thick, black smoke, shimmering with comical star patterns inside, suddenly burst from Sparkle's mouth, nose, and even ears, quickly engulfing her head. The smoke swirled, expanded, and even vaguely formed a fleeting, grinning, ghostly figure.

A second or two later, the smoke dissipated, revealing Sparkle with her hair standing straight up like a black sea urchin, still wisps of smoke rising from it. Her face was marked with a few adorable black streaks from the smoke, but her smile was even more unrestrained and satisfied, as if she had just tasted the ultimate delicacy. She even elegantly raised her hand and gently blew a small string of perfect, swirling black smoke rings from her lips.

"Look! Isn't that amazing! Isn't that thrilling!" Her voice was slightly hoarse from the smoke, but her excitement was off the charts. "This is real performance art! Facing the nothingness of the explosion! Embracing the sweetness of chaos! Turning the omens of destruction into a celebratory salute! Haha!"

Meanwhile, the Sparks on the other side, after their initial shock...

Her face instantly shone with an intense competitive spirit of "How could I lose?!" and a keen interest of "This game seems interesting!" Almost without hesitation, her movements were even faster and smoother than Sparkle's, as if she had practiced a thousand times. She produced, with lightning speed, a Jumpy Dumpty that looked almost identical, only with the smiley face facing the opposite direction. Amid Sparkle's accusations of "You plagiarized! You sneaky little thief!", she displayed a resolute "Watch this!" attitude, and just as decisively, even more boldly, shoved it into her own mouth!

"Bang--Plop!!"

This time the sound seemed crisper and longer, with a strange rhythm. The equally thick, pink-glittering black smoke instantly engulfed Spark's head.

Smoke billowed, and faint sounds like the scoring effects in video games could be heard. When the smoke cleared, Spark's already distinctive white ponytail had completely evolved into a "white dandelion swept by a category 10 typhoon," exploding wildly and unruly. Several streaks of black and gray appeared symmetrically on her face, forming a blurry "smile" on her cheek.

But her eyes shone with a frightening intensity, a fiery, excited gleam of finding a kindred spirit Burning within them, screaming, "I won! I exploded louder than you!"

"How about that! I can explode too! And my smoke has glitter!" she announced loudly, even letting out a burp that smelled of gunpowder and a hint of strawberry saccharin because she spoke so fast.

A moment of silence fell over the audience, as if time had stood still.

Immediately, a burst of laughter, frenzied whistling, stomping, and applause erupted—ten times more enthusiastic than ever before, nearly lifting the roof off the makeshift stage.

"Haha!! Two madmen! Unparalleled geniuses!"

"Okay! One more! Let's try eating two at the same time this time!"

"Is this a new kind of performing art?! The college drama club needs you!"

"Art! So artistic! This is the most rebellious tribute to 'safety education'! Well done, here's a reward! Take the coins!"

Sparkle stared at the person opposite her, whose outfit was 250% identical to hers, even down to the angle of her ahoge (Spark). She was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, bending over with one hand on her stomach and pounding the stage floor (thankfully it was wooden) with the other, completely out of breath.

"Haha... you, you copied me! But... you fried it pretty well! Not bad! Interesting!" Her laughter was full of the joy of finding a "kindred spirit".

Spark laughed too, though her smile was slightly stiff due to a bit of numbness in her facial muscles, but the light in her eyes was incredibly genuine. "Likewise! You're not bad either! The smoke design is very creative!"

The two stared at each other, the air thick with the smells of gunpowder, strawberry saccharin, and a certain unspoken understanding of shared awfulness growing stronger. Suddenly, in perfect unison, they reached out and gave each other a powerful, solid high five in mid-air!

"Smack!"

The sound was crisp and clear, as if they had signed some unspeakable supreme alliance treaty regarding "fun".

"It's decided!" Sparkle announced loudly, trying to put her arm around Spark's shoulder, but with an air of authority, "From today onwards, you are my half-sister from another dimension! Our group name is -- 'Hilarious Twins: The Alliance of Chaotic Fun-loving People'! Our goal is to blow... no, to bring the most dazzling laughter and surprises to all the boring universes!"

"Alright!" Spark nodded vigorously, his white, afro-like hair swaying dangerously with the movement, as if he were about to launch himself at any moment. "Alliance formed! Let's try a combination attack next time!"

Below the stage, cheers and screams almost became tangible sound waves. Although most audience members didn't understand the core logic behind the two performers' performance art, well... as long as they're having fun! Isn't that what a celebration is all about?

The best seats are located to the side of the stage.

Yaoguang stood there, her hands behind her back, her wide sleeves fluttering even without wind. Her face wore a profound and unfathomable smile, as if she had just grasped the ultimate mystery of the birth, death, reincarnation, and entanglement of cause and effect in the universe.

She turned her head slightly and spoke to Fu Xuan, who had just walked over and was staring at the wildly spinning, almost smoking pointer on his compass, in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, yet strangely clear enough to penetrate all the noise and reach the ears of everyone present:

"Look, junior sister. This is the fateful entanglement of 'Spark' and 'Sparkle,' a cycle of cause and effect, where truth is revealed amidst the noise, and profound principles are hidden beneath the absurd. A single thought can ignite a prairie fire; a single word can lead to a world of error. Wonderful, truly wonderful."

Fu Xuan was looking down at his compass, which seemed to have gone mad. Hearing this, he looked up, his brows furrowed. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting now, using Resonance Array..."

Yaoguang, however, seemed completely absorbed in her own "preaching" rhythm, ignoring her junior sister's doubts. She adjusted her posture, slowly raising one hand to her chest, her thumb and middle finger interlocking as if grasping some invisible "thread of fate." Then, in a chanting tone, with a unique ancient rhythm and a strange hypnotic effect, she began to slowly recite—the sound was slightly amplified through the magic circle, carrying a hint of ethereal echo:

"Sparkle seek to continue the Spark, to rekindle the unique Spark between Sparkle and Sparks."

"Spark finds it too troublesome and doesn't want to continue the Spark Sparkle Sparkle."

"Sparkle insists on continuing the Spark Sparkle, Spark that if they do Sparks Spark Sparkle Spark Sparkle."

"The Spark avoids Sparkle, and the Spark of the Spark continues."

In the end, Spark Sparkle couldn't continue the Sparks Spark led to the Sparkle.

"The Sparkle are angry and strange, the Spark n't continue, and the Sparkle's Sparks..."

"Spark shook its head, resentful that Sparkle insisted on continuing the Spark between Sparkle and Spark."

"Should Sparkle force Spark to continue Sparkle Spark, or Spark Sparkle to Spark its Spark Sparkle?"

Her speech grew faster and faster, yet her enunciation remained exceptionally clear. Each "Sparkle" and "Spark" landed crisply and precisely, like a jade bead thrown with pinpoint accuracy. The sentences themselves were absurd and nonsensical, but the tightly woven cyclical structure and the increasingly rapid pace created a peculiar, dizzying, yet irresistibly captivating rhythm. Towards the end, she even incorporated some pauses and intonations reminiscent of theatrical recitation, her body swaying slightly with the rhythm, her wide sleeves fluttering like flowing clouds.

The crowd, who had just been laughing uproariously, gradually became engrossed in the ear-piercing tongue twister. Their expressions shifted from "???" to "Is she chanting a spell?" to "Wait, my head's spinning... but it seems pretty powerful?", and finally, they all agreed, "Although I don't understand a word she's saying, it's incredibly powerful and I can't stop listening!"

Yaoguang recited Spark ridiculously long and illogical "Sparkle" tongue twister in one breath. As the last syllable faded, she slowly pressed her hands down in front of her, making a gesture similar to finishing a practice. The invisible Resonance Array around her flashed and disappeared. She gave a smug, almost irritating smile to the audience and the two "hilarious twins" on stage who had forgotten their confrontation and were staring at her blankly. "The secrets of heaven have been revealed, fate is here, everyone should take care of yourselves."

Fu Xuan silently raised his hand, not to cover his face, but to press hard on his wildly throbbing temples.

In the open space next to the "Miracle Experience Hall," the magic show by Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet reached its climax. Lyney conjured a dozen white doves from a top hat, Lynette gracefully escaped from a water tank, and Freminet made the entire small stage snow, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

"Watch closely, everyone! Now comes the truly miraculous moment!" Lyney raised his hands, his magnificent cloak billowing, his face displaying his signature, captivating smile that disarmed all guard. "From this seemingly empty top hat, I will conjure tonight's brightest star, the most precious treasure—"

He flicked his wrist with a flourish.

The hat is facing down.

"Pfft."

A lively bass, its scales gleaming under the light, fell out and slapped its tail vigorously on the ground, full of energy.

Audience: "..." Silence.

Lyney: "..." The smile on his face froze for half a second, but his professionalism allowed him to quickly adjust.

Lynette, expressionless, delivered a precise and flat retort, "Brother, you took the wrong hat. This is the fish hat you said you'd 'borrow to study the structure' from the 'Golden Maze Boiled Fish' stall. Our prop hat is the one next to us with the blue trim."

"Haha... everyone, are you surprised? This is also part of the magic trick!" Lyney, being a top magician, chuckled twice and immediately continued, quickly squatting down to pick up the fish and holding it up like a precious treasure. "Look, the freshest and most lively boiled fish ingredient! This proves the 'realism' and 'closeness to life' of our magic trick! Next, I'll turn it back into the fish tank at the stall... uh, or into tonight's midnight snack?"

Freminet walked over, took the still-throwing fish, and whispered, "This... it's best to return it to Xiangling as soon as possible. She seemed to be counting whether any fish were missing while she was tossing the pan... her eyes were a little scary."

The "Game Challenge Zone" was especially lively, resembling a miniature multiverse game exhibition.

Several old-fashioned arcade machines were set up here, and Silver Wolf's terrifyingly high score record before he fell asleep was still displayed on them. At this moment, Qingque was sitting in front of one of them, a lollipop in his mouth, his fingers deftly manipulating the joystick and buttons, and the fighting character on the screen was performing dazzling combos.

"Tsk, this record... that gray-haired girl's got some skills. But, my playing style isn't to be underestimated either!" she muttered, her eyes focused.

Nearby, several students were playing the physical card game "Teyvat Genius Invokation TCG," and the battle was fierce. There were also unfinished snacks next to the card table.

"I activate the field spell 'Liyue Harbor'. Effect: Draw two cards!"

"Chain activation of the quick-play spell 'Eternal Thunder Silence'! Negate your card draw and seal your Elemental Burst for the next turn!"

"Wait! Hold on! What the hell is this 'Bill of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor' card? Its effect is 'Select an opponent's character on the field. If that character uses a skill or attacks this turn, the user must pay the opponent gold equal to the number of dice they expended. Otherwise, that character cannot act'? Is this card even legal?! Is it even in the card pool?!"

"School Anniversary Limited Edition - Director Hu's Special Edition! Absolutely legal! I bought it from Director Hu for fifty copper coins! It works, pay up!"

Even more outrageous was the immersive role-playing board game area themed around "Honkai Impact: Star Railway," which was decorated with illusion magic and simple set design to resemble Astral Express observation car. Dan Heng, March 7th, Xing, and Kong, who was somehow pulled in, along with Venti, Zhongli, and Ying, who inexplicably sat down with character cards and dice in front of them, were sitting around a large table covered with a starry tablecloth. Various oddly shaped dice and character models were scattered on the table.

"I am now the knight of 'Preservation' destiny. I activate the combat skill 'Fortress Construction - Resilience'. During this turn, I will absorb all single-target damage aimed at my teammates." Dan Heng calmly played a skill card, moving his character model forward one space.

"Then I, the bard of 'Elation'! Activate my talent 'Entertainer's Play - Improvisation,' effect: Skip your damage resolution phase and directly insert my turn! Let me have some fun!" Venti chuckled as he played a flashy card, casually plucked the harp model in his arms, and emitted an auditory illusion.

"Objection!" Xing carefully dodged her drink and slammed her hand on the table. "The rulebook says 'Improvisation' can only be used once per game! You just used it on the boss! Referee! Where's the referee?!"

Fu Xuan, acting as the referee, sighed, put down his compass, and picked up the thick, brick-like rulebook. "According to my calculations, this behavior is indeed a violation. Venti, according to the rules, you are penalized by only being able to play one card next turn, and the effects of some 'Elation' type skills are halved."

"Hehe~ Rules are meant to be created and broken~" Venti showed no remorse, but obediently took back the card.

Ying stared at the deck in her hand and the archer model in front of her that represented the "Hunt's " destiny, her brows furrowing slightly. Most of the cards she had drawn had effects like "locking onto a single target for overkill" and "ignoring some defenses," which seemed a bit... out of place and too direct in this board game that required teamwork, control, and support to defeat powerful dungeon bosses.

"Why go through all this trouble?" She placed down a few attack cards, her tone calm yet tinged with a hint of confusion. "Normally, locking onto this thing and destroying it in one strike would suffice. Why these complicated steps?" She pointed to the largest model representing the BOSS.

"Hey, Shadow, this is a cooperative role-playing board game. You have to follow the rules and cooperate as a team," March 7th explained patiently, holding several support and healing cards. "Besides, this 'Doomsday Beast' model has a million virtual health points. Your current attack cards can only deal a maximum of about 150,000 damage with a single combo."

"Then attack seven times," Shadow calculated quickly, then said matter-of-factly.

"You can only perform one main attack action per round! You have to wait for your teammates to buff you, or wait for the BOSS to enter a weakened state!" March 7th sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Troublesome," Shadow concluded, but still followed the rules and didn't actually use his knife to dismantle the model.

Zhongli silently took a sip of tea—a small teapot with built-in heat-preserving magic had appeared beside him without his noticing—then played a glittering golden card, "Heavenly Star: Fallen": "This card's effect deals a fixed amount of true damage to all enemy units on the field, ignoring defense, and inflicts the 'Petrified' status for one turn. Combined with Dan Heng's 'Preservation' damage reduction and shield, everyone can be safe this turn."

"Wow? This card is way too overpowered!" Sora leaned closer to look at the card.

Beside him, "God's Mouth" stomped his foot in the void. "This social outcast who expects others to pay the bill is so powerful!"

"From a purely rational standpoint, this card is extremely costly," Zhongli said calmly, pointing to the "requires discarding all cards" note on the card. "Power and cost must be balanced. In the current situation, it's worth using..."